


The Prince and the Peasant

by ardentaislinn



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Peasant!Emma, Prince!Killian
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-03
Updated: 2014-04-04
Packaged: 2018-01-18 01:14:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1409584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ardentaislinn/pseuds/ardentaislinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the spoiler pics for the finale. Killian is a prince of the realm. He meets Emma, an independent peasant woman.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

There was someone riding through her fields.

Someone that definitely shouldn’t be there, as they were ruining all her vegetable crops. Well, she knew exactly how to deal with this.

Emma grabbed up the bow and arrow that she used for hunting and stormed out the back door. She raced to the apple tree and clamoured up to get a good vantage point. She aimed the bow carefully, and when he was in just the right position she let fly the arrow.

It sailed straight past him, as she had intended, but it was close enough to his face that he jerked back in surprise. At the movement, his horse reared and the man came tumbling down.

Emma quickly shimmied down the tree and sauntered over to him.

“What were you doing in my yard?” she asked icily.

The man on the ground groaned and made a move to get up. Emma could see that his clothes were excellent quality. His brown coat was clearly made by the best seamstresses in the realm, and would probably feed Emma and her son for a month.

The man eventually made it to his feet and turned. Emma’s breath caught. Not only was he extremely handsome, but he was also _the goddamn prince_.

She quickly dropped to her knees in supplication with her head bowed.

“I’m so sorry, your majesty. I didn’t recognise you. Please accept my forgiveness.”

She waited, her eyes squeezed shut.

For a long moment he said nothing, and Emma was sure he was about to order her death.

“It’s alright,” he said eventually. “I was…trying to avoid some people. But I can see that I should not have used your fields to do so.”

Emma cracked an eye and looked up at Prince Killian nervously. He seemed sincere, but could she trust him?

“I probably still shouldn’t have shot an arrow at you,” she said grudgingly.

He grinned. “I have no doubt that if you had meant to hit me you would have.” He held out a hand to help her up. Emma hesitated a moment, and then took it.

As their hands touched, and a tingle shot from her fingers and straight to her heart. She snatched her hand back as soon as she was on her feet, and eyed him warily.

He was frowning at her, as if she was a mysterious puzzle he wanted to solve. Had he felt it too, that bolt of lightning through the veins? Surely not.

“I should…,” he cleared his throat and gestured to his horse. “I should go.”

Emma nodded and looked at her feet.

By the time she looked up he was already halfway across the field. Emma walked inside and didn’t look back.


	2. Chapter 2

“There’s a man here,” Henry said, staring out the front window.

Emma looked up from stirring her soup. “A man? Which man?”

“I’ve never seen him before. But he looks fancy.”

Emma’s heartbeat sped up. “Fancy?” she asked in a strangled voice, thinking of a day last week.

“Yeah, you know. Like the types that live in the castle on the hill.”

“Oh,” was all Emma could think to say. She hadn’t told her son about her meeting with the prince. She’d half suspected the whole encounter had been a dream. Now, she wished she’d prepared him. And herself.

A knock sounded at the door. Emma smoothed her hair as best she could as she went to answer it. Not that he’d care what she looked like, of course. But she did have her pride.

It _was_ him. Prince Killian. This time she was prepared, and immediately went into a deep curtsey.

“Your Majesty,” she managed in a dignified voice.

“I never did get your name the other day.” His voice was low and gruff, and it sent shivers down her spine. He managed to look both sinful and regal at the same time, which is not something any other man she had seen could ever have pulled off.

“Emma. Emma Swan.” She looked up and he was watching her expectantly. “Would you…would you like to come in?”

“Please.”

She stepped aside and he entered. Over his shoulder, Emma saw Henry staring at him with his mouth wide open.

“Henry, this is Prince Killian. Your Majesty, my son, Henry.”

Prince Killian did something rather unexpected. He bowed.

“Henry, it is an honour to meet you.” He held out his hand for Henry to take, which he did, still apparently in shock.

Henry managed a nod, and then an awkward silence descended on the room.

“I was just making some soup. I don’t suppose you would like to stay for dinner?”

The prince looked over at her, and she could see something lonely in the depths of his eyes. Something that looked an awful lot like longing.

“Will your husband mind?” he asked.

“He passed away a number of years ago.”

His eyes cleared and then warmed. “Ah. In that case, I would love to stay. But I brought you a gift.”

He stepped out of the cottage and returned quickly, this time carrying a covered basket.

“What’s this?” she asked suspiciously as he held it out for her.

“Just open it.”

She did. The basket was full of root vegetables.

She looked up at him, smiling. “What a practical gift!”

“I thought you’d prefer that to flowers. As an apology. I did destroy your crops, after all.”

Her smile deepened. “That you did. Thank you.”

He nodded awkwardly. Emma set her gift on the bench and returned to the stove. “Have a seat. This should be ready in a moment.”

The prince walked to the table and sat down without hesitation. She had expected him to turn his nose up at her humble kitchen, but he just made himself right at home.

“Are you really a prince?” Emma heard her son ask. She turned to watch the man’s reaction to her son’s questions, ready to step in if Henry offended him. But the prince just smiled.

“Indeed I am.”

“So you live in a castle? And fight with swords? And ride horses?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, that must be the best.” Henry was staring at him in awe. Emma was once again reminded that her son didn’t have many men to talk to in his life, a fact that saddened her greatly.

“Those parts of it are certainly excellent fun. But there is much more to it than that. I visit my tenants, go on diplomatic missions, and I have to do a _lot_ of paperwork.”

Henry made a face. “Paperwork? A prince?”

“Yep. I have to do reports, and sums in our treasury, write letters. It is very tiresome.”

“That doesn’t sound like much fun at all.”

“It isn’t meant to be fun. It is meant to be work.”

Henry sighed. “So, even if I was a prince, I’d still have to do work?”

Emma laughed. “Sorry, kid. You can’t get out of your chores simply by becoming a prince.”

Henry rolled his eyes at her. “At least I could learn to ride and fight if I was.”

“That’s true. Though, I’m already teaching you archery,” she reminded him as she placed the soup down on the table. She served the bowls and handed them around.

“Your mother has an excellent hand with a bow. I can attest to that first hand.” The prince smiled up at Emma, and their eyes caught, revelling in the secret of their meeting.

“I want to fight with a sword.” Henry was dangerous close to pouting, Emma knew, from having been through variations on this conversation a number of times.

“Dinner is ready,” she interrupted and sat down.

Emma watched carefully as the prince tasted his meal, waiting for his reaction to their simple fare.

His eyes brightened. “This is delicious. Thank you.” Their eyes met, and Emma felt herself warm at the intensity of his look.

She nodded, pleased but a little embarrassed, and started to eat her own food.

The dinner went by without any disasters. The prince regaled them both with stories from the palace, but also asked them intelligent questions about their own lives. He seemed particularly interested in Emma’s childhood, of which she knew very little about. Her lack of answers seemed to frustrate him, though he hid it well.

Through it all, Emma couldn’t help but wonder why. Why he came, and why he stayed. What would he want with a peasant widow and her son? It didn’t make any sense.

She also knew that much more time with him would cause her to fall head over heels in love with him. Any sensible woman would. He was handsome, and charming and kind. And Emma had been alone for so long. She was susceptible to any attention a man like that showed her.

Once the meal was done, Prince Killian stood up to take his leave.

“Thank you once again for sharing your repast with me, Emma Swan.”

“You’re welcome, Your Majesty.” She curtsied again.

“Emma,” he began, then hesitated. “Ms. Swan, I would like to see you again, if you are at all amenable to that. But I don’t want to feel that you have to.”

“I…why?” she asked, so confused as to his possible motives.

“Because I like you,” he said simply.

“Yes, but you are a prince,” she reminded him. “And I am but a humble peasant.”

“Oh, Emma Swan. You are so much more than that.”

“I won’t be your mistress,” she blurted out.

The prince blinked, clearly taken aback.

“I wouldn’t dream of suggesting such a thing.” A deep flush rose to his cheeks.

“Please, just…can you be honest about your motives? I’d prefer it.”

He sighed. “Yes, you deserve that. My reasons are twofold. The first one is that I like you, a lot. And the entire kingdom has been waiting for that for most of my life. The second is…well, you look awfully like a little girl in the portrait gallery in the castle. It was the last portrait ever taken of the royal family from our neighbouring kingdom. I’m sure you’ve heard the tragic story of what happened 25 years ago.”

“They all died.”

“Yes, except the little girl. She disappeared. There were rumours that she was smuggled here, into our kingdom. And here I find you, precisely the right age, with exactly the right look, and I can’t help but wonder…” he trailed off and shrugged.

Emma’s heart was fluttering in her chest and her hands were growing clammy. There was no way…but as he was speaking memories began to drift in from some dark corner of her mind. A palace; a dress with diamonds sewn on it; her mother and father’s face. But, surely, it couldn’t be true.

“What are you saying?” she whispered, afraid she already knew.

“I’m saying that I believe you are a long lost princess, and heir to a very large kingdom.”

Emma fainted dead away.


	3. Chapter 3

Killian paced the halls of the palace, waiting for Emma and her son to arrive.

“Killian, sit down. You’ll wear a hole in the floor,” Liam’s voice drifted to him from around the corner.

Killian looked up to see his brother enter the corridor. “How did you know it was me?” he asked, a little put out.

“You’ve been a nervous wreck all week, since you visited the Emma woman.”

Killian raised a brow. “You might want to be more respectful, brother,” he said, his voice tight.

Liam’s expression was tight with disapproval. “You know how I feel about this whole situation.”

“Yes, but that’s only because you won’t listen to me. She had nothing to do with me believing she is the heir. I suggested it to her, and she was so shocked that she fainted.”

Liam looked at him doubtfully. “And then the handsome prince tenderly carried her in his arms, and placed a romantic kiss on her brow.” Liam said dramatically. “You can’t tell me that isn’t a tactic that countless girls have tried before.”

Killian clenched his jaw. “Just wait until you meet her. You’ll see.”

Liam sighed. “It isn’t as if I am not pleased that you are showing a marked preference for _someone_. We’ve all been waiting for you to take a fancy to somebody and settle down. I just…I worry that you will be taken in by her wiles.”

Killian softened slightly, but held his ground. “I know you are only doing what you think is best. But in reality you are being a judgemental ass. At least meet the woman, before you condemn her.”

Liam sucked in a breath. “Alright.”

Footsteps crunched on the gravel outside and the door to the main hall was opened by a servant.

“Good, because I think she’s here.”

Killian’s heart sped up in anticipation of seeing Emma again. She came striding in through the door, her head held high as she surveyed the room. Henry walked in behind her, and Killian gave him a quick wink before he turned back to Emma.

She had obviously cleaned up for the visit. Her hair was falling in soft waves about her face, and her dress was neat, with simple embroidery on the bodice.

She looked beautiful.

Liam reached her first. “Milady,” he said, bowing over her hand as he kissed it.

“Are you serious?” she asked him. Without waiting for a reply, she turned to Killian. “Is he serious? He knows I’m a farmer, right?”

Killian laughed as he watched his brother blush deeply.

“Oh, he knows. I think he was testing you.”

Emma gave him a slightly judgemental look, but said nothing. Liam cleared his throat.

“I apologise. Welcome to our castle, Ms. Swan. Henry. I hope you will both feel at home here.” Killian smiled at his brother’s gracious reception of them. He knew that once Liam met Emma, his older brother would come around.

“Sure,” she replied doubtfully. “I appreciate the offer.”

Liam looked at her a little regretfully, then clearly decided he deserved her distrust of him and let it pass without comment.

“Henry,” Killian began. “Liam is a master swordsman. I’m sure he’d be happy to take you to the training grounds.” Hopefully that would redeem his brother somewhat for his unfortunate introduction to her.

Henry’s eyes lit up, and glanced up at his mother hopefully. Emma looked to Killian, silently asking his opinion. Killian nodded, and Emma turned to Liam, appraising him.

“Nothing sharp,” she said eventually. Liam and Henry both grinned and immediately started out the door.

“Why do I get the feeling that you just wanted to be alone with me?” Emma asked.

“Because you’d be right,” he said, completely unrepentant. “Besides, Liam needs to make it up to you for attempting to embarrass you.”

“He obviously doesn’t approve of me.”

“No, but he will,” Killian replied with certainty.

Emma glanced at him with a doubtful frown. Their gazes ensnared on each other and he saw Emma colour slightly. He decided that he never wanted to look away.

There were other matters to attend to first, however, such as the reason that she was here.

“I suppose you want to see the portrait now.”

“Yes, please. Let’s get this foolishness over with.”

Killian couldn’t help but smile to see how determined she was not to believe what he’d told her. He hoped that in seeing the portrait it would jog her memory, because there was no doubt in his mind that she was the lost princess.

He led her towards the portrait gallery. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she took in the surroundings of the palace, trying to be surreptitious but failing miserably.

“Why are you so determined that I be this long lost princess?” she asked suddenly.

“A few reasons. Partly because it would be such a nice thing for you to reclaim your crown. And partly because it will make things considerably easier when I eventually ask you to marry me,” Killian told her smoothly.

Emma tripped on her dress and turned to face him. “ _What did you just say?”_

“You mean the marriage part? Well, I obviously don’t mean right away. You’ll need some time to get used to me. But I will ask you eventually. And it will be far more convenient if you happen to be a princess.”

“You want _me_ to be your wife? And a _princess_ of this realm?” she asked in disbelief.

“Yes. Of course.”

“There is no _of course_ about it. I’m a farmer, in case you have forgotten.”

He shrugged. “Of course I haven’t forgotten. But it is hardly relevant. Once you marry me you’ll be a princess, and an excellent one if I do say so myself. That’s all that matters.”

She blinked, obviously confused by his complete lack of concern.

“I…what if I don’t want to marry you?” she asked.

“Then I will walk away forever,” he told her sincerely. “But I do hope you give me a chance first.”

Emma just stared at him in utter shock. He stood calmly under her gaze, giving her time to come to terms with it all. He knew it wouldn’t be an easy transition for her, but he was sure that she was already warming slightly to the idea of being his wife. Killian rather thought his biggest obstacle would end up being her own feelings of unworthiness about the position. But he was more than up for the challenge of getting Emma to see herself as he saw her.

Emma just shook her head slightly and continued walking towards the portrait gallery.

“This one,” he told her when they reached the door.

He opened it and ushered her through.

“It’s down the other end.”

The room was huge even to Killian’s eyes, and he was used to palaces. Emma was looking about, not even trying to hide how awestruck she appeared.

“If this portrait is from the kingdom next door, why do you have it?” she asked.

“Liam, my step brother, is distantly related to the family,” he explained. “This means that if you are, indeed, this princess, then we aren’t at all related. In case you were wondering.”

She just shook her head at him, a slight smile on her face. He grinned, now sure that he was winning her over.

“Here it is,” he said, gesturing to the large portrait.

Emma looked up and stumbled. Killian caught her arm as her knees wobbled and she listed into his side.

“Papa,” she whispered. Then, “Oh God, it’s true. It’s all true.”

 


End file.
